


Living Expenses

by Hitomi_G



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Awkward Crush, I finally went there... to the old "and they were rommates" trope, I have to kill time somehow, It's just... lockdown you know?, M/M, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Unrequited Love, yeah - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-30
Updated: 2020-12-07
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:55:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,822
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26184547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hitomi_G/pseuds/Hitomi_G
Summary: "I'm moving in with Kuroo."Akaashi's roommate is moving with his new boyfriend, leaving Akaashi alone, heartbroken, and in an apartment that he can't afford by himself. The solution? Well... now that Akaashi's roommate is moving in with his boyfriend, said boyfriend has to kick out his own roommate, and this person is now in a huge need for a place to live in.
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou, Kuroo Tetsurou/Tsukishima Kei
Comments: 16
Kudos: 90





	1. Moving out

**LIVING EXPENSES**

**Chapter 1: Moving out**

"I'm moving in with Kuroo."

Akaashi expected it to happen, he saw it coming since the first day when Tsukishima walked into the apartment face flushed and handshaking after his confession. He has known him for too long to not understand what was going on. He is happy for him, he finally opened his heart to someone, even if said someone is an annoying piece of... No, no. Akaashi stops and smiles. No one has stolen Tsukishima from him, and no one will. Does he like Tsukishima as more than friends? Yes, he does, he is not afraid to admit it. Who wouldn't? But he knows he can never be liked back and he is okay with that. He isn't one for pining. Still, it will be weird without him in the apartment, it will be weirder not knowing about his day. It will be different, but it will be better. The distance he needed is being granted to him. He will always love Tsukishima, and he will always think of him, but it's time to move on now.

At least that is what Akaashi keeps telling himself every day since Tsukishima’s announcement. The thought he is trying to convince himself of believing is spiraling consciously in his brain every day, every night, every hour, and every minute of the day. It is forced, it's not honest, it's a gentle lie Akaashi is retelling, again and again, to make the separation easier.

Tsukishima promises they'll still be as close as ever. Akaashi wants to believe it, he wants to trust that he won't just stop texting him or visiting him. They won’t stop going out together either, they didn’t when Kuroo became a constant in Tsukishima’s life and they won’t now that the third party will be Akaashi instead.

But it still hurts.

Seeing Tsukishima pack his beloved books and dinosaur goods in boxes, helping him sort his things from the kitchen and the bathroom, being the one in charge of labeling everything afterward and then seeing Kuroo come into the apartment and being the one carrying everything into his car is more painful than Akaashi wants to admit.

Tsukishima isn’t moving yet, and the whole process is only starting. He still has to go change his address on his ID card, and he needs to empty his room completely from any furniture. He also has to notify his job so that they grant him enough time to move and settle. He isn’t even moving to a different city, and their place is a train ride away, 15 minutes tops. 30 minutes on foot. But still, the nostalgia overcomes him, and that night he finally cries himself to sleep.

He wakes up to the smell of bacon and coffee. He gets up and takes a shower, and notices his eyes look red and swollen. Sighting, he finishes brushing his teeth and wears a loose t-shirt and gym shorts before going to the kitchen. Just as he expected, Kuroo is there greeting him with a friendly smile and offering a fresh plate of eggs and bacon.

“Oh, thanks but I don’t eat animal products.” Is what he offers instead of saying “Good morning” back to Kuroo.

“Oh, sorry, I didn’t know. That also explains the lack of cream for the coffee.” Kuroo's smile becomes apologetical “I don’t want to be offensive, but I already prepared all this and… Do you mind if we…?”

“Not at all, go ahead. Kei always eats in front of me. It’s not a big deal.”

“Oh, okay.”

Kuroo’s relief is evident and Akaashi hates himself for ever having negative thoughts about him. He doesn’t even have a reason to. Kuroo is a little bit too much for him sometimes, but he has to admit that he is caring and considerate. He is also outgoing and it's never uncomfortable to be in his company. He's knowledgeable and he always finds something to talk about, but respects Akaashi when he clearly is in the mood for talking. And even then, his silence is not tense, Akaashi knows he just feels it that way because he wishes he could say a lot of things to him that would hurt Tsukishima if he did.

Akaashi takes a bowl of overnight oats out of the fridge and starts cutting strawberries and banana to top it when he hears Tsukishima walking to the kitchen. He doesn’t turn, because he doesn’t want to see the good morning kiss he gives to Kuroo, their quiet but content humming is more than enough reminder of his dreadful current situation. It's only when slim fingers grab his shoulder in a friendly manner and a playful hand steals a strawberry from his breakfast bowl he greets him good morning.

Kuroo serves Tsukishima his breakfast and the three of them sit on the table to eat. Kuroo comments on Akaashi’s diet, mentioning it never crossed his mind and Tsukishima never told him. Tsukishima answers that he didn’t think it was important. Kuroo replies that if he had known he would have prepared something for him too that morning and they start to bicker about the matter. Akaashi feels left out, even when he is part of the conversation, he kind of wants to comment on something here and there, but he doesn’t find the will to do it and settles in smiles and nods. Kuroo refuses to let the issue go and finally asks Akaashi how long he's kept his diet.

“About 4 years, I think. When Kei and I met I was already vegan.”

“That explains why you're so skinny. Not that there’s anything bad about it! I know weight doesn’t always reflect health. And yeah, I guess now I see why Tsukki is also so slim.”

“I was actually almost convincing Kei to go at least vegetarian” Akaashi replies “and he was doing okay until…”

_“Until he met you.”_

The words stop rolling out of his tongue before he makes the situation uncomfortable, not realizing that stopping mid-sentence is what actually makes it like that.

“Yeah, well, I am still not a great meat lover, but it’s difficult to give it up when all your dates involve places with little to no vegetarian options…”

Kuroo laughs unceremoniously at that and apologizes to both of them.

“Tsukki, if you had told me I wouldn’t have minded, you know that, right?”

“I do, I just… Well, I was already being very difficult from the beginning. Adding picky eater to the list wasn’t going to help my case.”

“Oh, but it would. You know I find you adorable no matter what.”

“You’re disgusting”

“I mean, it’s everyone's choice what they want to eat, I won’t judge people based ln that. Besides, Kei has admitted to like the things I cook”

“Really? Well, if you really wanted to change your diet, we could…”

Kuroo goes on talking about how he would support Tsukishima if he wanted to stop eating meat and Akaashi can’t help but focus on his oats so he doesn’t have to be a witness of the sparkly eyes and the blushes that they are both displaying.

Later that evening, Akaashi helps Tsukishima sort their CDs. Their music taste is very similar and it turns out a difficult task to remember which CDs are whose. Sometimes they bicker over a CD that both of them swear it's theirs, some others they can’t even remember where the CD comes from and then there are some that they are willingly gifting to the other as memories of their time together.

Four years of knowing each other since working together in the same art and literature internship, two and a half years living together, and over a year of realizing his feelings for Tsukishima. Akaashi can’t believe that it will all end in just a couple of weeks. How long have Kuroo and Tsukishima been together anyway? Eight? Nine months? And about five or six since they became official? Wasn’t it all too soon? Akaashi remembers posing the question to Tsukishima and receiving a sigh in response.

“It's not about the time, Keiji. It's about the feeling. And, it feels right. With Kuroo, I don’t know, everything does.”

When Tsukishima finishes wrapping all his CDs in bubble wrap and putting them in a box he offers to make dinner for both of them and to watch a movie. Akaashi accepts and goes to take a shower. When he comes back to the living room a plate of stir fry and rice is waiting for him on the coffee table and Tsukishima presses play on the controller to start “Ponyo”, which is Akaashi’s favorite movie.

They sit together on their sofa covered with a blanket while they eat. Their shoulders are touching and Akaashi fears that maybe Tsukishima can feel his heartbeat through it. He shifts, but Tsukishima’s weight pulls closer again. Their empty plates are now resting on the coffee table while the movie finishes. Tsukishima stands up to turn on the lights then and sees Akaashi.

“Keiji, are you ok?”

Akaashi’s cheeks are wet with tears and his body is shaking. He wants to confess, and he wants to believe that if he does Tsukishima won’t leave, but he knows he’s being immature and selfish, he knows he can’t make him stay and he knows he can’t do that to him or to Kuroo. They deserve each other, there’s no other way. And yes, everything will change after Tsukishima moves out, but they will still have each other, right? Still, Akaashi can’t shake the feeling that if only he had acknowledged his feelings for Tsukishima sooner, if only he had confessed before they met, they would be together in a very different way now.

“I just… I'm going to miss this. I'm going to miss you.”

Tsukishima sits back next to him and embraces his slim body.

“I'm going to miss you too, so much.”

Akaashi hugs back and lets himself enjoy the moment. Yes, he loves Tsukishima, but right now he is being honest, that’s not why he will miss him. He'll miss him because he is his friend and because they have so many memories together that it will be difficult to adapt to everyday life without him. When he calms down and settles back to wipe his tears he notices Tsukishima has been crying too and that’s all he needs to feel reassured that this is just as hard for him.

“Why are YOU crying, big baby? You’re moving in with the love of your life!”

“Yes, but it won’t be the same. He isn’t you. And, to be honest, I'm scared. What I have with you is different, it’s as if it were something unbreakable. With Kuroo… If this doesn’t work I know I won’t get to feel like this again and I'm terrified that will happen. I know I have you forever, but him… I wouldn’t be able to see him anymore if I fuck this up.”

“You won’t,” Akaashi says “and even if the remote possibility of you two not working were to happen believe me when I say that I would totally go look for Kuroo and beat his ass so you two get back together.”

Tsukishima laughs. Akaashi enjoys his laugh and the way wrinkles form at the corner of his eyes when he does so in order to protect that laugh he promises to himself that from that day on he will never think about Tsukishima as anything more than a good friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I love these four + Hinata and their interactions. And it's always fun to write something with them in it. Hopefully, you like it enough to wait for the next chapters. Until then!


	2. A friend in need

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tsukishima is worried about Akaashi, and he and Kuroo do cute couple things together.

**_LIVING EXPENSES_ **

**_Chapter 2: A friend in need_ **

Tsukishima was officially going to move out in a week. Most of his things were already in Kuroo’s apartment – or _their_ apartment, which is what Kuroo had started to call it – and only a few outfits and personal stuff remained in the one he was soon going to stop sharing with Akaashi. He was leaving his bed behind too. He and Kuroo were going to start sharing a room, so there was no point in taking it with him. He had jokingly mentioned that maybe it was a good idea that they had a spare bed in case they fought, but Kuroo hadn’t found the joke funny at all. He had started to worry instead, and he had continuously asked Tsukishima if he was sure that he wanted to live with him. Tsukishima had apologized in the end and the last arrangements for his moving out were settled.

On that specific day, a moving truck was going to get the last of Tsukishima’s boxes and furniture and take them to his new home. Akaashi seemed calm about the whole issue, but Tsukishima noticed how anxious he got whenever he heard car noises or steps outside. Maybe he wasn’t taking the whole thing as well as Tsukishima had thought. The fact that he kept looking outside the window every few minutes was starting to stress him out and he had to do something to help him relax or they both would become crazy.

“Kuroo is hasn’t even called yet, Keiji. We won’t know if the truck is coming until he does”

“Right”

“Do you want to talk?”

Akaashi shook his head and took a seat in one of the plastic chairs that were to replace the sofa that Tsukishima was going get moved to his new apartment later that day.

“Can I ask why you are nervous?”

Akaashi sighed and took a sip of cold tea from the cup that he had been holding for a while now. There were several reasons why he was nervous: he was nervous because he wouldn’t be able to see Tsukishima every day anymore, he was nervous because he didn’t like being alone, and he was nervous because the closest the date, the closest he was to having to find a way to afford the apartment rent by himself. He would have moved somewhere smaller and more affordable if it weren’t for the fact that he actually had no money to do that either. Out of the three things that were making him feel nervous he decided the last one was the least worrying or compromising to mention at that moment.

“Wait… Has no one called to ask about the apartment? I haven’t been around much with all I have to do, but I thought that you had at least showed it to a couple of people already”

“Well, about that… I haven’t been looking”

“What!? Keiji! Why didn’t you tell me? I would have helped you! Wait, why haven’t you been looking for a roommate?”

 _“Because I don’t want anyone to see me fall into a deep depression after the person I love moves out with someone else”_ wasn’t really an answer that he could give in that moment, and he couldn’t think of any good excuse at that moment. He had noticed that Tsukishima never asked about his plans after he moved out because he was too distracted with the arrangements and the happiness and prospect of a future next to his beloved Kuroo, so Akaashi had decided to not mention anything either in order to not make him worry.

“I forgot”

“Akaashi Keiji, how can you forget something like that? Are you taking me for an idiot?”

“Ok! Ok!” Akaashi looked away knowing that he wouldn’t be able to lie to him “I don’t know how to tell you this because it’s not easy, but…”

_“Ring! Ring!”_

Tsukishima’s phone started to sound in that moment and showed Kuroo’s name on screen. Tsukishima excused himself and took the call. Akaashi was left there watching him talk to Kuroo and wondering what had made him be so close to confessing if he had already decided he wouldn’t do it.

“Yeah, ok then. See you… Er, yeah, me too. Keiji? It was Kuroo, he says he’s on his way here with the truck guys. They’ll be here in about 10 minutes.”

Tsukishima left Akaashi alone and came back wearing a different t-shirt.

“So, what was it you were telling me?”

“That I didn’t look for a roommate because I want to try living on my own for a while, to see how it goes.”

Still not convinced, Tsukishima told him he would ask around the office where he worked if anyone was interested to help him out and offered to lend him money to pay rent if he needed it. Akaashi refused to accept but thanked him nonetheless and they resumed a talk from days before about a series that they had started to watch together. When the bell rang, Akaashi’s anxious heart started to race again. He went to the bathroom to wash his face in hopes to calm down and then went back outside to greet Kuroo and offer help to carry boxes, but the guys that Kuroo had hired told them all not to worry and started to move things into their truck following Tsukishima’s and Kuroo’s directions.

When the last thing was already in the truck – the sofa and Tsukishima’s nightstand – the couple said goodbye to Akaashi in order to arrive before them and start to unload the things. Tsukishima promised to be back later that night, but Akaashi was dubious.

“Hey, is everything alright with Akaashi? He was rather quiet today” asked Kuroo from the driver’s seat of his recently bought car. Tsukishima shrugged at the question.

“He didn’t want to tell me, but I think he’s worried about the rent now that I won’t be there. He hasn’t found a new roommate yet and he has been struggling with money for a while.”

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. Tell him I can help him if he needs money sometime, I don’t mind.”

“I offered, but he refused. He would probably refuse yours too.”

“Not with my convincing puppy eyes”

“You’ll scare him away. He will never warm up to you if you act like that”

“Aw, but you did”

“Shut up and keep driving”

Tsukishima placed his hand on top of Kuroo’s over the gear stick and the later let it go in favor of intertwining fingers with his boyfriend and pulling his hand to his lips to press soft kisses on his knuckles. Tsukishima scolded him for being a bad driver and Kuroo retorted blaming Tsukishima of his actions for being terrible at riding shotgun. Tsukishima pulled his hand away and called him impossible. Kuroo just said that he loved him.

“You know what… I think I may have found a way to solve Akaashi’s financial problems”

“He won’t join in your stupid idea of opening a host service, Kuroo”

“You hurt me, it isn’t stupid” Kuroo dramatically moved his had to his forehead and Tsukishima reprimanded him again for leaving the gear stick unattended “but no, that’s not what I was thinking, although Akaashi would be very welcome if he wanted to, he would attract a lot of clients…”

“I’d appreciate it if my _boyfriend_ didn’t talk about objectifying my _best friend_ in front of me, thank you”

“Aw, you’re not fun, Tsukki”

“Yet you want me to live with you”

“Well you might not be fun, but you sure are very good at other things, if you know what I mean” Kuroo wiggled his eyebrows as to state what he meant, receiving a glare from Tsukishima “I’m kidding, I’m kidding. Relax, I love you for who you are, not for the things you do in bed, though that is a great plus I must say”

“Can you try to focus on what you were telling me, please?”

“Sorry, sorry. As I was saying, there might be something we can do to help Akaashi, at least temporarily” he stopped talking to curse at the driver who was in front of them, who had turned without turning on his turn signal “Anyway, remember I told you Bokuto was looking for a new place to move in before you started to live with me? Well, turns out the person who had agreed to receive him as roommate called him to cancel only yesterday, an asshole if you ask me, so yeah, now Bo has to find a new place before next Saturday when you officially start living here”

“That is… certainly convenient. Why would he move in temporarily though? They know each other. I mean, yeah, Bokuto-san can be a lot to deal with for Akaashi, but I don’t think he dislikes him”

“Yeah, I won’t allow Bokuto to live there for more than a month. It wouldn’t be a good idea”

“Why not?”

“Haven’t you noticed? He hasn’t said anything to me, but it seems pretty obvious he has a crush on Akaashi”

“He does ask a lot about him when I come visit now that I think about it”

“Yeah, and you have no idea how annoying he was after they exchanged phone numbers that day we went to have dinner. He wouldn’t stop sulking because Akaashi didn’t text him. I could tell by the way he hurried to grab his phone whenever it made a sound only to throw it away afterward”

“How come you never told me before?”

“I don’t know, I didn’t think you’d be happy to know”

“I’m not, but I’m not unhappy. I mean, Akaashi can do whatever he wants with his life, and he hasn’t been with anyone since that jerk he dated during our second year. As long as Bokuto-san isn’t a jerk too I don’t mind”

Right then, they arrived at their apartment where the moving truck guys were already waiting. Tsukishima was glad that at least Kuroo was able to hire people who didn’t question why two grown men were moving in together. They unloaded the things and left 30 minutes later.

The couple spent a few hours unboxing things and finding a place for them and then took a shower together. Kuroo proposed having an improvised movie date and Tsukishima accepted with the condition of being the one choosing the movie. They got ready and went to the movie theater to watch a bad horror film and then asked some pasta to take home in a nice Italian restaurant nearby.

When they returned to pick the things Tsukishima had left in the apartment to drive him back home Bokuto had already arrived. He greeted Tsukishima with the same enthusiasm as always and excused himself to go to sleep. Kuroo stopped him and lied to him, telling him Akaashi had said hello. Bokuto was beaming, and Tsukishima understood why it wouldn’t be wise to let them live together.

“That’s not a crush… The poor guy is completely infatuated with Keiji. But it will be very difficult to find someone else so soon…” Tsukishima mentioned inside of the car on his way home.

“Yeah, told you. What do you think? Should we tell them?”

“Well, they could give it a try. And if Bokuto-san wants to try to win Keiji’s heart in the process let’s just hope that they won’t end up uncomfortable next to each other when it doesn’t work”

“As Bokuto’s friend and as someone who has come to care for Akaashi I’m more inclined to say that I hope it works. They’d look good together. The overexcited guy and the easily exasperated guy, they’d be super cute”

“You literally just described our relationship and I don’t think we’re cute”

“That’s because we’re the incredibly sensually attractive guy and the nerd”

“Are you the nerd?”

“I am most definitely the nerd, Tsukki”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one took longer than expected because I'm basically drowning in paperwork. You have no idea how many times I had to rewrite this chapter.
> 
> Also~ the First glimpse at Bokuto. More of him next chapter.
> 
> As always thanks for reading and see you in the next one.


	3. Deal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tsukishima and Kuroo are plotting something and Akaashi gets dragged into their plans.

**_LIVING EXPENSES_ **

**_Chapter 3:_ ** _Deal_

“For the millionth time, I don’t need a roommate, Kei.”

Akaashi was biting into a baby carrot from the container that Tsukishima placed in front of him to talk about the idea of letting Bokuto live with him. After years of knowing him, he was still surprised by how much Akaashi loved carrots in any form while he despised the vegetable more than any other, except celery, he could deal with watching Akaashi eating carrots in front of him, but celery? Why would Akaashi do that to himself?

Noticing that his thoughts had wandered to celery and other despicable vegetables that he definitely couldn’t understand why Akaashi liked instead of the original matter, Tsukishima shook his head and asked Akaashi to reconsider.

“Kuroo says he’s clean, and he won’t be here most of the time anyway. He works irregular hours most of the time. It took me more than a month to meet him in person even though I spent most of my time in Kuroo’s apartment at the beginning of our relationship.”

“Interesting, I thought you said you were taking extra turns in the museum at the time…”

“The point is” Akaashi smiled devilishly noticing that even if Tsukishima’s expression didn’t falter the tip of his ears had become red “you shouldn’t be so stubborn. Just give him a chance at least until you both find a more suitable place or roommate.”

Akaashi wanted to expose all the reasons why sharing the apartment with Bokuto would be a bad idea, but he honestly didn’t know him enough to actually complain about him, and honestly saying that he reminded him of a little child and that he would feel his nanny was not going to get him out of the situation.

He took a look around the apartment and at all the spaces that were now empty after Tsukishima had finished moving them out and started to imagine how it would look like with Bokuto there based solely on the few things he knew about him. He could vividly picture several weights around the floor that Akaashi wouldn’t be able to lift if his life and sanity depended on it, tons of meat and animal products in the fridge and the cupboards, a weird collection of hair dyes and bleaches in the bathroom and probably an intense smell of body lotion and deodorant in the kitchen and living room every morning after Bokuto left to work.

There was just no way in which the arrangement would work. Akaashi cared about his privacy more than he let on, only allowing others to get into his life after knowing them for a long time. Tsukishima had been an exception only because they shared very similar lifestyles and it had been too easy to feel comfortable around him. Too comfortable. That was the reason he was now in the mess he was.

He tried to focus on the positives: the distance would help him get over Tsukishima, probably. His pocket wouldn’t suffer as much with Bokuto there, and he could even learn a thing or two about exercising properly to get some needed physical strength. He could even use him as an anatomical model since Bokuto’s body was more than very well sculpted…

Before his thoughts wandered further, Akaashi sighed and stood up to wash the now empty container and pour himself a glass of water. Tsukishima, noticing that he was actually contemplating the idea, observed him silently to not interrupt his train of thought.

“I assume Bokuto-san knows about this?”

“Yeah, Kuroo told him this morning”

“And I suppose he’s okay with the idea”

Tsukishima thanked god that he was so good at masking his feelings because if it hadn’t been for that, his face would have given away that Bokuto was actually not that much okay with the idea, but he wasn’t about to explain Akaashi that Bokuto freaked out and became a sulking mess when hearing about it from Kuroo. “ _I’m not ready to face his awesomeness and make a fool of myself yet!_ ” cried Bokuto in the audio that Kuroo had secretly recorded and sent earlier to Tsukishima.

“Yes, of course. And look, this doesn’t have to be permanent. If any of you starts feeling uncomfortable you can always find someone else. But for now, he’s the only available option you have unless you actively started looking for a roommate after I called you out on it yesterday and have already found someone.”

Akaashi fidgeted with the glass between his hands, giving away the answer.

“It’s settled then. You two will meet tomorrow to talk about it.”

“That’s too soon…”

“I leave in only five days, Keiji…”

“Okay! Okay! What’s the plan?”

*

Akaashi should have known that he and Bokuto wouldn’t be able to meet somewhere quiet. Instead, Kuroo had driven him to the place where Bokuto worked, a gigantic gym located on the third floor of a building 20 minutes away, and made an entrance by calling Bokuto’s name out loud.

“Bo!”

And as Akaashi had thought, he could get used to the sight of the sweaty and ripped body of Bokuto Koutarou around the apartment. What he wasn’t sure he could get used to was the way in which he noisily replied to Kuroo from the treadmill area of the gym, where he was aiding a young woman with long black hair and glasses who didn’t seem disturbed at all by the sudden outburst of his trainer, but more like she was used to it.

The two friends ran to each other, but Kuroo stopped for a second to look back at Tsukishima as if asking if what he was doing was okay. Akaashi’s heart hurt a little when he saw his friend smiling in a knowingly way and rolling his eyes while he nodded. The two adult men hugged as if they didn’t live together - or as if Bokuto had no idea he was coming, which Akaashi found suspicious - and then Kuroo proceeded to take Bokuto to where Tsukishima and Akaashi were standing.

“So, Bo, I know you two have briefly met before, but the circumstances call for a reintroduction, don’t you think?”

“Good afternoon, Bokuto-san”

Akaashi had to admit that he was nervous to talk to someone with such an imponent presence as Bokuto, and even more so since he had to try and hide the blush that was trying to creep to his face at the sight of such a fine specimen of a man. He wasn’t usually awkward around people but talking to _attractive_ people like Bokuto was a completely different story. Even so, he could attest to the fact that Bokuto was even more nervous than him for some reason if the completely pale face was any indication. Without more than a loud _“Excuse me!”_ Bokuto ran away. Akaashi heard both Kuroo and Tsukishima burst out laughing mockingly.

“What has just happened? Did I do something wrong?”

While Tsukishima could dissimulate his laugh behind his hand, Kuroo was a complete mess of weird nasal noises and tears. He had even taken his hands to his stomach to hold himself in place, or maybe to keep it from hurting out of laughing so hard. Since Tsukishima was the only of the two who remained somewhat composed, he was the one who replied.

“Let’s say he didn’t know you were coming along.”

“Yeah, that’s pretty much obvious, but why that reaction?” at that moment Kuroo’s laughter started to die out and his cellphone rang the notification bell a few times. Kuroo checked while weeping tears from the corner of his eyes.

“Heh, don’t worry about that, Akaashi. You kind of left an impression on him the last time you two met” Kuroo typed something on his phone and continued “he says he’s taking a shower and that he’ll be here in a few minutes.”

“Will his customer be alright?”

“Who? Oh! Kiyoko-san… Yeah, don’t worry. She’s been coming here for ages and knows Bo’s quirks well. And her husband works here too, so I don’t think she really needs Bo right now, all the trainers know her.”

Kuroo texted Bokuto to meet them at the food corner located a floor below the gym and he guided Tsukishima and Akaashi there. They grabbed a table and Kuroo wandered off to buy some coffee and bring it to them. Akaashi thanked him and took a sip. Tsukishima and Kuroo started a very private conversation because Akaashi was sure he was left out of it on purpose. Deciding not to dwell on it, he continued drinking his coffee and thinking about Bokuto’s reaction.

On one hand, it was normal to be freaked out when meeting someone when feeling you look like a total mess, especially if you had no idea you were meeting this person. On the other, Akaashi had a lot of experience dealing with people telling him that they found him scary and difficult to approach, and the possibility that Bokuto may have perceived him like that the few times they had met was very high. He hadn’t been welcoming, to say the least, and the very last time he had been rather tipsy too.

At some point while Akaashi overanalyzed Bokuto’s reaction as if it it had been something personal he remembered hearing Tsukishima and Kuroo say they’d be up to check around the building if Kuroo could find a magazine he had been wanting to buy somewhere. Akaashi simply nodded and took out his tablet from his backpack to continue drawing a commission while he waited for Bokuto. He figured the pair would leave them both be, and Akaashi thought it was best like that since whatever Kuroo and Tsukishima were plotting was probably going to get in the way of having a normal conversation with the other man. He was in the middle of adding shadows to his illustration when he felt that well-known sensation of someone watching him from behind.

“Hello again, Bokuto-san”

Bokuto wasn’t expecting Akaashi to notice he was there if the way he squeaked was any indication. He nervously greeted him and walked around the table to sit next to Akaashi. Akaashi saved the unfinished file and put his tablet away. The scent of shampoo was strong and when Akaashi finally directed his gaze to Bokuto he noticed his hair was wet and not styled in the usual way he had seen it the few times they had met, which gave him a different air, a slightly more mature one. Bokuto was fidgety under the table so Akaashi assumed the worst.

Even though he had agreed to meet the guy with an open mind it was difficult to shake away the feeling of being disliked. To Bokuto he probably looked like a rude nerd who was his last accommodation option at the moment. Not that Akaashi didn’t have his own preconceived idea of him, but at least it wasn’t a completely bad one, he just thought them incompatible. He knew from experience that Bokuto was one of those extremely energetic type of guys who loved to rant about the things he liked and who was usually loved by everyone because of his cheery and confident personality, but he also knew from what he had heard from Tsukishima that he was actually quite insecure but a nice person overall. If Tsukishima didn’t dislike him, well, Akaashi probably didn’t have any real reason to dislike him either.

“I take it Kuroo-san talked to you about my current situation?”

Bokuto nodded and for a second Akaashi distinguished the beginning of a smile at the corner of Bokuto’s lips, but then he grew quiet. Not exactly the kind of meeting Akaashi had expected.

“I don’t know if you remember the apartment, or if you even paid attention to it that one time you visited… I know the situation wasn’t ideal. It has all the basic services; you would still have your own bedroom though it’ll probably be a bit smaller than what you’re used to. We could go see it if you wanted to…”

“Yeah, no, I remember a little bit” after the interruption Bokuto stared at Akaashi intently with his big golden eyes for a few seconds before continuing speaking “I really don’t mind the space, and I’ve heard enough about the apartment from Kuroo and Tsukki…” his volume started to decrease as he reached his point “I only really have one question.”

“Oh, and what would it be?”

“Is it really OK? I mean, I know I can be a lot sometimes, and I wouldn’t want to impose. I was very surprised when Kuroo suggested it and I know how pushy he can be sometimes, so I just wanted to make sure you actually agree to all this”

“Yeah, well, I don’t really have many options, but if it’s alright to you I don’t mind. We can work out some convivence rules or something to make it work.”

“Yeah, that’d be fine” Bokuto grinned, he seemed to become more cheerful as the conversation went on “that would actually be really helpful.”

Akaashi didn’t want to dig deeper into the last comment, so he just let it slip. Instead, he started to ask Bokuto about his health and cleaning habits. Bokuto assured – and even seemed to brag about the fact – that he was actually incredibly careful and meticulous when it came to cleaning and that he really enjoyed doing chores, especially those involving water. Akaashi decided to mention then that that was actually exceptionally good news since he hated doing the dishes and there wasn’t any dishwasher in the apartment. Ha had had the intention of making it sound like a teasing joke, but he hadn’t expected Bokuto to burst out laughing the way he did.

Noticing that at least the both of them didn’t seem to feel uncomfortable around each other, passed the initial awkwardness and that it wasn’t as difficult to talk to Bokuto as he had thought, Akaashi contemplated the idea a little bit more and decided that they would be alright. Tsukishima had mentioned that Bokuto was only looking for something temporary at the moment, but Akaashi could deal with that, he would have time to look for another roommate while Bokuto found a more convenient place to live in. Still, Akaashi thought it better to ask Bokuto directly if that was really his intention.

“Well, yeah… I think I might find living with you a little difficult” Bokuto paused for a moment a looked at Akaashi with a very serious expression “be… because of my job! With Kuroo I didn’t have a problem since he could drive me, but if I could find somewhere closer that’d probably be better for me.”

Something gripped Akaashi’s heart at the way Bokuto had paused. He might have tried to hide it, but there was something in Akaashi that didn’t make Bokuto feel comfortable living with him. The surge of insecurities came back to haunt his mind. It’s not like Akaashi minded too much about people´s opinions about him, but it was difficult to ignore the fact that he was always perceived as someone so difficult to get along with without even really trying to know him before. He probably should start looking for a new roommate soon then, if Bokuto was already fixated in having that kind of opinion about him.

They talked a bit more about general things about them to get to know each other. At the mention of Akaashi’s diet Bokuto’s face drew a very notorious discomfort which only made Akaashi sigh and accept the fact that not only Bokuto disliked him, but he also was having a hard time agreeing to the whole thing in the first place. If it weren’t for the fact that Akaashi was plenty conscious that they had both ran out of options by then he would have probably called him up on that and told him that he didn’t have to force himself to do something he didn’t want to do.

Akaashi decided to take it as a challenge instead.

He was, of course, bothered by the fact that even though Bokuto seemed to be a pretty nice guy he had also got along with his first impression of him. And Akaashi wasn’t having any of that. If the guy had come to get along with Tsukishima and had even be able to make Tsukishima like him back, he could too. And if he wanted to start changing his apathetic attitude towards people might as well start now. So, instead of sulking, Akaashi decided to take this new development in his life as an opportunity to improve and grow, and if Bokuto was still reluctant to get along with him or to at least try to, then he would be the one missing an opportunity and Akaashi wouldn’t be able to say that he hadn’t at least tried.

By the time Kuroo and Tsukishima came back – Kuroo being basically guided like a dog by Tsukishima dragging him from his sleeve since he was too concentrated reading his magazine – Akaashi and Bokuto had already shaken hands and greeted each other as roommates.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a soft spot for KuroTsukki so don't mind me writing cute scenes with them.
> 
> I also really like to imagine a BokuAka dynamic in which Bokuto is super awkward because he can't deal with Akaashi's awesomeness and Akaahi is just oblivious to it.
> 
> See you next time!


	4. Arrangements

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akaashi helps Bokuto move in, and he spends alone time with Kuroo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two hurricanes have passed here this month! TWO! Anyway, here's the chapter. The plot starts to move on~

**_LIVING EXPENSES_ **

**_Chapter 4:_ ** _Arrangements_

“Can you remind me why I’m doing this?”

Akaashi was carrying a sports bag on each shoulder, both of them seemingly full and looking about to burst open and spew all their contents at any minute. Kuroo was carrying yet another one as he took a box from the trunk of his car.

“Because you two start living together in three days and we need to finish moving his things into your apartment before that” the black-haired man directed a noncommittal wink towards Akaashi before noisily closing the trunk. Today was the second day that they both had been hanging out together to get Bokuto’s things into Akaashi’s apartment, and so far this was the third trip they did from one place to the other carrying things.

The day before they had had Bokuto’s help, so at least most of the heaviest things had already been relocated to his new place, but today it was only Akaashi and Kuroo. Tsukishima had had to step back from helping since there was a new event in his office and his bosses had put him in charge of organizing everything, so Akaashi had been dealing on his own with Kuroo’s weird sense of humor and Bokuto’s sudden mood swings for the past two days.

The experience of hanging out with them without Tsukishima around had certainly been enlightening. Witnessing the dynamic of the two friends up-close was a completely new experience for Akaashi. It was the first time he saw Kuroo acting like a normal person instead of the annoying boyfriend of Tsukishima, and to be honest, Akaashi had to admit that he actually enjoyed his company. He and Bokuto made an interesting pair because even though both of them were overexcitable and chatty, it was funny to see how opposite their personalities could be.

For starters, Bokuto was very bad at getting Kuroo’s sarcasm and jokes, but not in the same way Akaashi did. For Akaashi it was simply a matter of not really finding his comments all that funny or worth laughing about, though he did slip a few smiles here or there. For Bokuto it seemed nearly impossible to understand when Kuroo was joking, which lead to a lot of unnoticed teasing. Most of the time, Akaashi smiled and reacted more to the way in which Bokuto would turn his head with clear confusion radiating from his eyes than to Kuroo’s actual comments. Akaashi also learned that, even though that’s what he had expected, Bokuto’s range of facial expressions was huge and badly controlled. He could go from furrowing his brows into concentration one second to full – or half full – realization of what had actually been said. It was endearing, to say the least, and Akaashi was grateful that at least being left alone with the two of them wasn’t being as uncomfortable and undesirable situation as he had thought.

Kuroo on the other side was proving to Akaashi why Tsukishima had fallen in love with him so quickly. The guy could be annoyingly teasing and provocative, but he was also very caring and kind. He wouldn’t stop giving advice to Bokuto while they worked on packing, carrying, and then unpacking boxes from one apartment to another, he was always making sure that they stopped to rest for a while every so often and he didn’t hesitate to help if he noticed any problem. He had also offered Akaashi a nice dinner in exchange for his help for the number of days that they needed it, and Akaashi’s stomach had been more than delighted to accept the offer.

Still, the whole point of Akaashi helping aside from the obvious purpose of finishing quicker was to spend time with Bokuto and get to know him better before they actually shared the apartment, and even if Akaashi had found Kuroo’s presence tolerable he still felt uncomfortable around him. And it was in no way Kuroo’s fault, since he had been nothing but nice to Akaashi. And he was being genuinely nice too, not only because Akaashi was his boyfriend’s best friend and he wanted to make a good impression. Akaashi felt conflicted because he couldn’t tell if he preferred this or having awkward silences that led him to have strong arguments to not like him as a person.

Of course, Kuroo seemed to not be acknowledging that fact, and he simply continued being the adorably kind dork he was. It was usually difficult for Akaashi to have a long conversation with anyone, but Kuroo managed to get him speaking at least in short sentences each time with his constant change of topic and inquiring questions. They would have become friends easily if Akaashi had met him under different circumstances.

“Well, I think that’s it for today, Bo didn’t finish packing everything else so I guess the last of his things will be brought here tomorrow”

“Thank goodness”

“Ha! I like that of you. You’ll definitely get along well”

Kuroo followed Akaashi to the room that was previously Tsukishima’s and left the few boxes and bags they had carried there. It would be Bokuto’s problem to unpack everything later. With a smile Kuroo told Akaashi to order anything he wanted for dinner and Akaashi chose a ramen place that had enough variety and customization options to offer for him to be able to get a meatless and eggless Japanese dinner. While Akaashi called the restaurant to order, Kuroo’s phone rang and Akaashi could tell it was Tsukishima calling because the ringtone didn’t even finish the first note before Kuroo picked up.

“Are you coming home now? We’re ordering dinner. Mhm, what? No, Tsukki, please, you promised. Yes, I know but… Wait, why are you getting mad now? I know it’s not your fault, but I’ve told you before you should say no from time to time! You’re not their slave! You know what, forget it, I don’t want to mess with your job. No! I’m telling you I don’t mind. Are you listening to yourself, Kei? Kei? Hey, Tsukishi…”

Kuroo seemed very frustrated and his face let go he was mentally struggling with something. Akaashi had left the person taking his order on hold while he waited for Kuroo to calm down. More than that, it was the first time he heard Kuroo calling Tsukishima by his given name, and it had a tone of exasperation and pleading instead of the usual trust, sweetness and embarrassment that usually accompanied the sound of someone saying their significant other’s name. Tsukishima always called him Kuroo too now that he thought about it. It had been kind of a miracle for him to stop using an honorific at all.

Akaashi shook his head and finished giving his order on the phone and giving his address. After hanging up the phone, he approached Kuroo and offered him a glass of water.

“Thank you”

Kuroo immediately started drinking and he ended up emptying the content of the glass is just a few seconds. Akaashi could figure out what had happened from what he had heard, and he felt sorry for Kuroo. Tsukishima was very stubborn sometimes. Still, he wasn’t sure if he should try to talk to Kuroo about it or not.

“Hey, Akaashi…” Kuroo started but then decided not to continue “No, forget it”

Akaashi’s relationship with Kuroo wasn’t one of friends, he didn’t even consider him close, but he wasn’t a stranger either and the sympathetic part of him urged him to ask if everything was alright. Whatever was going on in Kuroo’s head it was being reflected in his worried expression. And Akaashi was good at reading people, which he hated.

“You know, Kuroo-san, Kei is excited to live with you” it hurt to say, but it was the truth “Whatever is worrying you is probably only in your head”

Kuroo sighed and laughed. He approached Akaashi and ruffled his hair.

“Thank you” he smiled “I’ll apologize to him later. How about watching a movie together while our food arrives? I don’t think we have ever let you choose the movie whenever I’ve stayed here”

Great, not only had he hurt himself by admitting to Kuroo how much Tsukishima cared, but he had also given the impression that he was being friendly, and that lead to Kuroo wanting to bond with him. Whatever, for better or for worse, he was going to have to either spend more time with Kuroo or never see him again after Tsukishima moved out. The thought triggered pain and without noticing his eyes started to water.

He left for the bathroom before Kuroo noticed, telling him the title of the movie and to find it while he came back.

The next day, Akaashi woke up to Tsukishima nudging his side.

“Hey, Keiji, Bokuto-san came here to see you”

“What?” Akaashi got up and ran to brush his teeth and change his pajama for a t-shirt and a pair of casual shorts. He went back to his room and grabbed his phone and noticed that it was barely 6:30 in the morning. At least that explained why Tsukishima was still at home.

“Good morning, Bokuto-san”

“Hey, hey, Akaashi!” Bokuto greeted, making his name sound as if it was twice as long as it really was “Sorry to wake you”

“Yeah” was all that Akaashi could say. In the kitchen, Tsukishima was preparing coffee before leaving for work. “What is it you need?”

“I jut wanted to leave some things here and see if I could start putting my stuff in order” Bokuto scratched his temple apologetically, noticing that Akaashi hadn’t taken very well being woken up so early. “I usually start work at around noon on Thursday, but I wasn’t sure about you and Tsukki, so I just came here after running. Sorry”

“Don’t worry” It was Tsukishima who responded. “Keiji works from home most of the time and I always wake up early”

“So I’ve heard” Bokuto grinned and Tsukishima made a face that was between embarrassed and about to kill someone. Akaashi sighed.

“I’ll be working in my room if you need me, Bokuto-san, go ahead”

“Thanks!”

And with that, Akaashi retreated to his bedroom. He slept for another 15 minutes before Tsukishima entered again to let him know he was leaving and that he would be late.

“Hey, is everything okay?” Akaashi asked before he left “You’ve been coming late this past few nights and Kuroo-san was worrying about you”

“Yeah, we talked last night. I’m fine, I’m just trying to get ahead on work so that I can be completely free on Saturday for, you know”

“The big day” Akaashi murmured.

“The big day” Tsukishima repeated. “Bokuto-san is in my… _his_ bedroom. I told him it was ok. The bed is staying anyway. I hope you don’t kill each other.”

“It’s up to him if he wants to die today or not” Akaashi joked.

By 10 o’clock the unnerving silence was starting to freak Akaashi out. Had Bokuto left? Did he fall asleep or die? The absence of sound that Akaashi was so used to didn’t feel natural knowing that Bokuto was there so maybe it was better to take a look. Cautiously he saved his file and went out of his room. Bokuto didn’t seem to be anywhere in the common areas, so he went to the other bedroom and knocked on the door. The voice inside told him to come in, and he did. He found Bokuto sitting on the bed with a pair of earbuds in his ears bopping his head to the rhythm of whatever he was listening to and folding clothes

Akaashi asked him if he needed help or a cup of tea or anything and he ended up sitting on the opposite side of the bed folding clothes with him mostly in silence. Bokuto unplugged his earbuds and let the music echo through the room. Akaashi didn’t know what he was expecting really. His taste in music wasn’t really interesting he listened to whatever that felt nice according to his mood even if it was just to get rid of silence sometimes. He couldn’t name artists or songs even if he had heard them before and he was pretty sure the things he liked were at least two decades old or more. Tsukishima usually shared some songs that he enjoyed but he never really took an interest, he just agreed to listen to them because the other would complain if he didn’t get to choose the music, music that had strong instrumentation and deep lyrics, as well as well-trained voices.

In comparison, Bokuto’s taste was more on the high beats cheery stuff. Pop and hip hop, if Akaashi was guessing the genres correctly. A lot of the autotune that Tsukishima hated so much. He didn’t notice when he started to bop his head and sing along.

“Oh! You like this?”

Akaashi realized just then. He remembered hearing the song somewhere. Maybe a movie or a TV ad, since he wasn’t used to listening to music very often. The song kept playing.

_A little tight, like you tease for fun?_

_Well you ain’t gonna tease no other_

_Gonna make you a lover…_

“It has a nice beat” Akaashi replied “I don’t really know much about music though”

“You don’t have to _know_ about it, Akaashi. Music is meant to listen to it and to enjoy it” and maybe he was right. The next song had a more melancholic sound to it, but it kept the same pattern of structured and electronic vibes.

_Oh, your heart is broken_

_To your surprise_

_You’re sick of crying_

_For blue eyes…_

Bokuto skipped that song immediately and resumed his work. Akaashi didn’t ask.

“Do you speak English, Bokuto-san?”

“Hm? Kind of. I understand it, but I can’t speak it or write it. Do you Akaashi?”

“Tsukishima and I met in an art and literature internship back in university. English was mandatory to attend”

“Woah! That’s awesome! Maybe you could teach me?”

“Uh, sure, I’m not sure I’m good at it, not as Tsukishima at least, but I could try”

Bokuto left not long after that when all his clothes were folded and safe in the drawers. When Akaashi said good-bye, it felt natural. After the incident with Bokuto the day they met to talk about their living arrangement he had felt that maybe the other wasn’t as accepting of everything as Tsukishima and Kuroo had told him, but the past few days Bokuto had been nothing but civil. Today especially, which made Akaashi feel relieved. Maybe he had misunderstood Bokuto the first time, or maybe Bokuto had changed his initial opinion about him – not that he could blame him for it, their real first meeting had been disastrous, to say the least.

The next day, Friday, Bokuto and Kuroo arrived in the evening to bring the last of his things. On Saturday Akaashi woke up to a feeling of emptiness in his chest. That day, Tsukishima was leaving.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a shorter episode than usual, I think, but I kind of felt the story needed it. Next time: Tsukishima and Bokuto exchange keys!  
> I hope you liked the chapter. See you in the next one!
> 
> *Bokuto was listening to Mika's "Life in Cartoon Motion" album.


	5. Moving in/out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The big day comes and everyone has a lot of feelings.

**_LIVING EXPENSES_ **

**_Chapter 5: Moving in/out_ **

If the heavyweight of a whale had been crushing Akaashi against his mattress that morning it would have been easier to get out of bed. A migraine was threatening to make his terrible morning even worse, and his eyelids felt heavy after half a sleepless night that he had spent crying. Added to this, he found his vision once again blurred by tears that he wasn’t meaning to cry, and his already weak resolution to move on began to crumble with each passing minute.

The worst part of everything was that he knew why he felt that way. Tsukishima's departure would take place in just a few hours and with it, a series of changes and adaptations would be forced into Akaashi’s tranquil life. It was not the loneliness that hurt, it was not the feeling of being replaced – though that still stung a little – and it wasn’t his unrequited love either. It wasn’t the change itself, or the distance, or the rejection, but the inexcusable feeling of regret for not doing anything sooner.

Maybe he would have been rejected, maybe Tsukishima wouldn’t have wanted to stay friends or maybe it would have been the complete opposite, but in the end, Akaashi would never know and he wasn’t selfish enough to ruin and complicate things now. So, there he was on Saturday morning scrolling down his photo gallery and tearing at every single selfie and picture he had of him and Tsukishima wondering if anything could be different if only he had been braver.

He heard a noise outside, and then the rumbustious laugh of another person that he couldn’t recognize but assumed was Bokuto's because who else would be in the apartment that specific date? Technically, Akaashi didn’t have to do anything about the whole moving in and out thing except being ready for the dinner Kuroo had planned to have in celebration. Akaashi had insisted that if Kuroo and Tsukishima wanted to celebrate it was okay to do it by themselves, but Kuroo insisted on including him and Bokuto, and when the excitable personal trainer had agreed Akaashi was left with no room to reject the invitation.

He knew he would feel cranky and sad all day because he insisted that hiding his feelings was easier and better for everyone, so he chose to stay in bed until he had calmed down enough to at least pretend he wasn’t sulking and taking it on any person next to him for no reason. He especially didn’t want to start a fight with Tsukishima on their last day living together and he obviously didn’t want to start off his relationship with Bokuto with the wrong foot again, so Akaashi took deep breaths under his blankets and put his mind into staying calm and confident that day.

“Shouldn’t he be up already?”

“He doesn’t like to wake up early on weekends, and he becomes grumpy all day if you dare to wake him up for no good reason.”

The rest of the conversation was unintelligible, or maybe it was just that Akaashi refused to listen to it. What he was able to hear clearly was the sound of the door opening and closing. One or both of them had left.

Akaashi’s phone screen lit up from receiving a text from Tsukishima telling him that he left to his new apartment to water the plants since Kuroo was at work and that he would be back later. He sighed and sat down on the bed, but the migraine hadn’t subsided, so his head felt heavy and he had a sudden need to throw up. He rubbed his temples and decided to get up and get some water, but since Tsukishima had just left he felt weird thinking that maybe Bokuto would find it suspicious if he suddenly decided to come out of his room right after.

Knowing very well that it wouldn’t help the migraine go away, Akaashi grabbed his phone again with the intention of checking Instagram stories and his email in case he had received any more commission inquiries, what he found instead when he unlocked it was two new text notification icons, both from Bokuto.

>> _hey hey Akaashi i'm in the apartment_

>> _don’t want to scare u when u come out_

Akaashi giggled. It was very Bokuto-like to not be aware of how notoriously loud his voice was. He looked at the time and decided to reply.

_I kinda noticed, your voice is kinda loud, Bokuto-san <<_

He was wondering if the other would reply when he heard knocking on his door. A pair of timid golden eyes peeked inside once Akaashi told him it was ok to come in, but Bokuto didn’t dare to open the door completely, and Akaashi wondered why if he had already told him he could.

“Hey” he greeted “Good morning”

Bokuto nodded and closed the door, leaving Akaashi alone in his room again. Not knowing what else to do and feeling still too dizzy to move he called Bokuto.

“Bokuto-san! Come here!” he raised his voice and noticed that his throat felt dry, probably from the crying. He started to think that maybe he hadn’t been heard when Bokuto’s voice came from the other side of the door.

“SORRY! I DIDN’T MEAN TO WAKE YOU!” he yelled and just then it clicked.

“Oh, no don’t worry, you didn’t. Can you come in please?”

“To your bedroom?”

“Yes, to my bedroom, where else?”

“But isn't that like trespassing!?” Bokuto’s concerned voice made Akaashi laugh, why was he being so dramatic?

“It’s not when you live here and I allow you to come, Bokuto-san”

By then, Akaashi had already stood up and he was starting to make his bed. He wasn’t going to be able to go back to sleep with the pain anyway, so he might as well just take some pills to get rid of the throbbing sensation in his temples and the back of his eyes. Bokuto opened the door once more and ventured a couple of steps inside but stood close to the entrance.

Akaashi decided to wear his glasses that morning. In the state in which he was, he was probably going to fail at placing the contacts anyway. He combed his curls into some sort of submission completely unaware of Bokuto staring and fidgeting with his fingers. When he was finished, he walked out of the bedroom straight to the bathroom and looked in the mirror cabinet for his pills. He didn’t usually take them since he stopped having frequent migraines some time ago, but he kept them there in case of relapse like the one he was having, which he normally avoided by reducing his amount of time working on commissions until late at night but came back whenever he had to deal with strong and negative emotions like that day.

Bokuto observed him and panicked at the sight of the medication. While Akaashi finished brushing his teeth he practically sprinted the short distance to the kitchen and got a cup of tea – surely something Tsukishima had left ready for him – and offered it to him once he was out.

“Thank you, Bokuto-san, but water will do. I shouldn’t drink anything with caffeine in it today”

“Oh, yeah, you’re right”

“How come you’re here so early”

“Well, I kinda preferred to come early because I don’t want to be the third wheel in those two’s first official day living together.” Bokuto admitted “Tsukishima has been technically been living there already for the past month though. Maybe more.”

Akaashi sighed. It was true that all the arrangements have been taken care of in an annoying amount of time and that they hadn’t even been necessary to begin with because Tsukishima already spent most of his time over Kuroo’s place. He could have easily just moved in a month before and he would have gradually come to get his things as he needed them. But if Akaashi knew Tsukishima well enough, and he did, all of the postponing and slowing of the process was his way of telling Kuroo that he loved him, but he still needed to be patient with him. It would have been easier to just say it, though.

“This is you changing apartments now, then?” Akaashi asked, in spite of the obvious “Well then, welcome home, Bokuto-san.”

Bokuto blushed and grinned. And his whole self was beaming with pride and confidence when he responded “I’m home, Akaashi”. Akaashi felt something warm in the words, like a hidden meaning that he wasn’t able to comprehend, but he simply smiled and nodded. Somehow the pills had worked faster than he remembered or, ok, maybe Bokuto’s bright disposition had helped, and he was feeling a lot better. At least he wouldn’t be alone in all this. Bokuto was sure going through something similar having to leave Kuroo. They hadn’t talked about that yet, and Akaashi wanted to get distracted, so he asked.

“Bokuto-san, have you and Kuroo-san known each other for long?”

“Yeah, since high school actually”

“Oh, longer than Kei and me. You must feel weird not living with him now”

“Difficult is the word, I think. I mean, I knew it would come to this, and I had prepared for it since the first time he openly admitted his feelings for Tsukki and talked about him. I never saw him like that about anyone before”

“I know what you mean”

“Was Tsukki the same?”

“Er, that’s not what I meant. But I guess you could say they fell hard for each other.”

“It was all so fast too! Like they just knew they belonged together. I remember Kuroo once told me he had no idea how he could have liked other people before Tsukishima. But yeah, that doesn’t make it any easier for me. I’m used to seeing him every day, and suddenly not being able to feel, I don’t know, wrong. I suppose you feel the same way about Tsukki”

“I did cry last night thinking about this moment” Akaashi admitted. It was easy to talk to Bokuto, and maybe he didn’t have to explain exactly why he had cried, but at least he felt comfortable and lighter telling someone.

“Oh! We did too!” Bokuto exclaimed more excited than he probably should have “Kuroo was the first one to break into tears crying that he would miss me and that he was sorry for you now that you’ll be the one taking care of me”

“What?”

“Ha, ha, I’m joking. He did say something along those lines though. That he felt like a parent giving his son away or something. I did cry a little at that”

By the time Tsukishima was back at the apartment, Bokuto and Akaashi were sharing a bowl of peanuts in front of the TV while watching the weather forecast for the weekend. The easiness with which the pair had started to grow used to the other had surprised Tsukishima the most. Kuroo had told him not to worry too much about him, but Tsukishima didn’t want to believe that Akaashi would get along so well with someone who wasn’t quiet and composed. Oh, never mind, he was dating someone like that too.

The three ended up watching another hour of TV before deciding it was time to have lunch already and since Akaashi hadn’t had a proper breakfast he was starving. He also used the opportunity to tell Bokuto about his dietary choices. After being bombarded with several questions that Akaashi had almost memorized the answer to because of how frequently people asked them, he assured Bokuto that he didn’t mind him eating whatever he wanted as long as they respected their respective spaces in the refrigerator.

Tsukishima excused himself after lunch to take a nap. Apparently, he hadn’t slept well, but he didn’t elaborate further when Akaashi and Bokuto questioned him about it. Akaashi agreed to wake him on time to get ready for the dinner that Kuroo had planned and Tsukishima occupied Akaashi’s bed to sleep.

Bokuto left for an appointment with a client in the gym a little after that, and Akaashi stayed in the living room finishing some illustrations that he needed to send to an editorial later in the week. When he finished he took a shower and entered his bedroom to wake Tsukishima. That wasn’t the first time he had seen him sleeping on his bed, they had even shared one for a while, but the fact that it would be the last one hit Akaashi hard in the guts and his anxiety came back full speed. He needed to do something, either confess to Tsukishima or to someone else, but he needed to let everything out. He looked at the clock and calculated that he still had some time to spare in a phone call. He looked through his contact list and started the call.

“Hey, Akaashi, it’s been a while” Sarukui’s voice greeted from the other side of the line “How’s everything going?”

Sarukui was an old friend of Akaashi from high school, back when he was at the literary club. He had been on the soccer team, but due to an injury, he had to quit and joined the literary club expecting to be able to procrastinate and read manga instead of actually doing club work. Akaashi had been the one to ground him back then and they became inseparable until Sarukui graduated. They had kept in touch after that, and they usually heard of each other once or twice a year, when they went out to remember old times.

Now, Sarukui was a father of a 2-year-old girl whose voice Akaashi could hear clearly on his side of the phone.

“Oh, sorry, is this a bad time?”

“No, no, Fumiko is playing with the cat right now. My wife is out, but I can talk while I watch her. What’s going on?”

They talked for a while before Akaashi finally reached the topic of Tsukishima. Sarukui listened patiently, with a few interruptions due to him interjecting something to his young child, and ended up inviting Akaashi for drinks later that week to have a calmer conversation about the matter. Akaashi accepted and agreed to text him later to decide on a place and hour.

Once more, he gathered courage and went to his room to wake Tsukishima. He handed him his glasses and told him to start getting ready. He also noticed something was off with him but decided to wait before asking. Tsukishima finished showering and bathing right when Bokuto arrived so the latter proceeded to occupy the bathroom. It was while Tsukishima was finishing lacing his shoes that Akaashi asked.

“Is everything ok? You seem a little off.”

“I’m not sure.”

“Did you have a fight with Kuroo-san again?”

“No, not today. Not with him.” Tsukishima sighed “I went to see Akiteru”

Oh. Well, that in itself gave Akaashi enough explanation, but he still let Tsukishima talk.

“What happened?”

“I told him that I’m moving in with Kuroo today and that I wanted him to have a spare key to our apartment. He didn’t take it well.”

“What did he say?”

“He said that it is too soon, that he doesn’t trust him enough, that I might regret it. Just, you know, what he always says when it comes to Kuroo”

“It’s not a big secret that he doesn’t like him, that’s for sure. And yes, he shouldn’t have said all that, but he is your brother, he’s just worried about you”

“Whose side are you on?”

“Yours, always. I’m just saying what you probably already know. So, I think that’s not exactly what’s bothering you”

Akaashi ventured a hand on Tsukishima’s and squeezed it to reassure him. Tsukishima turned his palm and held Akaashi’s hand for a moment before speaking.

“What if he’s right? What if Kuroo and I don’t work out together? You’ve seen us, we’re not exactly relationship goals”

Akaashi’s hand was turning white with how much pressure Tsukishima was putting on it and he gently retired it. He gave a little thought to what he was going to say, and he chose his words carefully.

“You’re practically a married couple, Kei. No, I’m serious. You make each other happy and I can’t imagine you with anyone else.” The words hurt to admit, but he was being completely honest. “You needed someone like him, he has made you a better version of yourself. You’re more open and happier since you’re together. Bokuto-san also said something similar about Kuroo. So, what if you banter and drive each other crazy from time to time? Even if you two broke up you’ll find a way to get back together again, like that time, remember? And even if you didn’t, wouldn’t it be better to end things after at least trying?”

“Keiji, are you alright?”

Tears were rolling down Akaashi’s cheeks and his body was shaking. Tsukishima pulled him closer and hugged him. They remained like that for a few minutes that lasted a complete eternity in Akaashi’s mind.

“You care so much about me, I don’t know what I would do without you, Keiji.”

“You better find out soon, because you’re leaving me for the pathetic excuse of a boyfriend you’ve got” Akaashi laughed and cleaned his tears on Tsukishima’s shirt.

“He is pretty pathetic, isn’t he?”

“Yeah, your taste sucks. Damn, I was supposed to help you, not the other way around”

“It’s ok. You did help. Thank you”

They broke apart when Tsukishima’s ring tone started to sound. Apparently, Kuroo was running late because of the traffic in the city, but he was already on his way to pick everyone up. Tsukishima and Akaashi left the room after making sure their outfits looked decent and found Bokuto leaving his almost at the same time. He was wearing a dark navy dress shirt paired with grey slackers, formal shoes, and a matching tie with a nice pattern. Both Tsukishima and Akaashi found it hard to hide their impression. Bokuto looked very attractive, enticing even. It was the first time that they had both seen him wearing something that wasn’t sports gear and he didn’t disappoint.

“What? Oh, no, it’s the tie, isn’t it? I knew I looked stupid” he reached to loosen it, but Akaashi approached faster and stopped him by placing his hands on it and re-adjusting it. “Er, thank you”

“You look very well, Bokuto-san.”

“Thanks, Tsukki. You don’t look half bad. Akaashi, you look great too”

“Thank you. Shall we go out and wait for Kuroo-san downstairs?”

“No need,” Bokuto said “he’s here”

After further compliments from Kuroo and a very uncomfortable cheesy scene between Kuroo and Tsukishima, the four went into the car and let Kuroo drive them to the fancy restaurant where he had made reservations. Once there, they waited for the waitress to show them to their table and ordered a bottle of wine.

“Oh, none for me. I’m driving” Kuroo motioned to the waitress.

“I also don’t want any, thank you. Could you bring me a glass of water instead please?”

“Make that two” Kuroo added.

The waitress left to get their water. Bokuto and Tsukishima were already sipping on their own glasses and they had to be served again by the time the waitress came back. Akaashi ordered a simple salad that he shared with Tsukishima even though he had ordered something for himself. Everyone joked that they had no idea why he was so skinny with the amount of food that he ingested daily. Kuroo ordered a fancy steak, and Bokuto a soup. It didn’t take long for the ambient to be comfortable enough for Kuroo to interrupt and make a toast.

“For our new lives and for praying that Tsukki doesn’t want to kill me by the end of the week after this”

“If you continue, I’ll just kill you as soon as we leave the restaurant”

“For Kuroo and Tsukki!” Bokuto intervened.

“For Kuroo-san and Kei” Akaashi agreed.

“All that’s left is for you two to exchange keys, right?” Kuroo commented after he had gulped all the water in his glass.

“We actually did that this morning, since I was staying at the apartment earlier today” Bokuto blushed.

“Hurry much?” Kuroo teased. Akaashi didn’t quite understand why he had grinned and why Tsukishima almost choked on his pasta at his boyfriend's comment. Maybe some internal joke they had. “If he ever gives you problems, just call me Akaashi. I’ll make sure to whip him out for you”

“Thanks, Kuroo-san, I’ll keep that in mind” Akaashi replied with a straight face.

“Akaashi!”

Akaashi laughed before taking an olive into his mouth and popping it with his tongue. He looked at the three people that were with him that night and smiled before reminding himself that not all changes carried negative consequences. And even though this particular one had proved to be a difficult change to make, at least at that moment he thought that maybe it wouldn’t be so terrible having such nice people around him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the delay. Adult life has me busy even in my free time. But anyway, this chapter was a little longer than the others and it's also an important one because it introduces several things that will be important for the plot later, I also had to change my original outline a little bit, but I'm satisfied with how everything seems to be flowing in general, and I hope you do too~


End file.
